Milk production in the state has registered almost threefold during the last two decades from 8.75 lakh metric tons in the year 2000 to over 23.73 1akh metric tons in 2021, the animal resources development minister Arun Kumar Sahoo claimed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in an attempt to promote the dairy development in the state, the Odisha Government has launched sex sorted semen artificial insemination programme production of female calves with 90% accuracy.

“The sex sorted semen technology would enhance the milk production in the state through production of around 90 per cent of female calves. Bovine breeding over the past two decades has played a key role in boosting farmers’ income in the state”, minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said while launching the programme here today.

The State Government has initiated slew of measures for the development of livestock farmers and dairy development has been identified as an engine of growth for farmers, women self-help groups and entrepreneurs in the state.

Genetic improvement of breed through artificial insemination is taken up in a mission mode and currently around 15 lakh cows are being inseminated annually, free of cost. In order to control Foot and Mouth disease in cattle, immunisation of livestock population is being taken up as a campaign, twice a year.

Fodder cultivation is encouraged through promotion of high yielding species of annual and perennial fodder species. Under the Mukhyamantree Krushi Udyog Yojana (MKUY), a subsidy of up to 50 lakh rupees is being provided to farmers and entrepreneurs to set up new dairy units and milk processing plants. Over two lakhs sixty-three thousand dairy farmers of the state are now able to sell their milk to OMFED through 3700 milk producers’ cooperative societies.

The government is focusing on cattle breed improvement programs to increase milk production with use of semen of high genetic potential bulls.

While using normal unsexed semen, the male to female calves born is of the ratio of 50:50.0ver the years there has been less demand for male calves, and farmers leave them to stray, causing increase in stray cattle population.

Sex-sorted semen technology will ensure up to 90°/o chance of production of female calves with high genetic merit along with reduction of male progeny, thereby reducing the burden of farmers to manage male bull calves.